Art of signaling by light-rays.



No. 51,495. v PATENTBD APR. 23', 1907.

w. cauncnm.

'ART- OF SIGNALING BY LIGHT'RA YS. Aluminum]: nun nov.5.1oo4.

' UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM CHURCH] LL, )l NlClV BRllAl'N, CONNEGTlCUT, ASSIGNOR T O GORNINQ GLASS WOl l Kb,

()F ()ORNING, NEW YORK.

ART OF SIGNALING BY LIGHT-RAYS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented. April 23, 1907.

Application filed November 5,1904. Serial No. 231,506-

To (rill 'IUII/(I'ITI/ [it nuty coll/oer; 7

Be it known that LlVlLLiAn lllllCllllil tlcitizen of the United States, residing at New Britain, in thecounty of Hartford and State of Connecticut, have invented new and useful Improvements in the Art of Signaling by Light-Rays, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to an improved method of constructing lenses of the Fresnel type, and of such form as are employed, more particularly, in comiection with signal lam s and lanterns used on railroads, and in t e marine service, whereby light rays that have hitherto been lost by dispersion are caused to bend or be so refracted as to enter the beam of light projected by the lens and greatly increase the luminosity and penetrative power of the light.

' In order to render effective the li ht from a kerosene lamp or other source artificial illumination, and intended to serve as a signal as is customary, for example, in railway and marine service, and at a greater range than is possible without some such device, it is customaryto make use of a lens so constructed in accordance with the laws of optics as to bend a certain proportion of the light raysemanated into a parallel bundle. 1n the type of Fresnel lensgenerally employed in the marine service, the bending takes place only in such away as to produce a fan of light thrown out toward the horizon; In a railroad semaphore, the bending of the rays is effected both as in the case of the marine- Fresnel, and also along a straight line, so that the result is to reduce, approximately, a cylindrical bund e'or beam of parallel rays having a cross section of the size of the lens employed. In designing such lenses, allowance is ordinarily made for the spherical aberration found .in all lenses by altering the l curvature of one or both faces of the lens at different points, since rays passing through the outer edges of the lens experience more spherical aberration than those passing nearer the center. The alteration referred to consists in dividing the surface of the lens into zones and reducing the curvature of each zone progressively from the center to the.

outer edge of the lens. The .precise curv itures necessary depend, of course,upon the laws governing the refraction pf light passing through a lens, and the curvatures vary, as is well known, according to the refractive index of the glass used and with the focal distance desiredfor the lens. 111 designing such lenses, heretofore, it has been customary to focus all parts of'the lens as closely as possible to a theoretical point of light estimated to be situated in the center of the flame or other source of illuminatimi. in all parts most closely to such theoretical point is most nearly perfect for use in an optical instrument, such as a microscope or a telescope, or for photographic purposes; and it has been supposed, apparently, that the same method would give the best results when applied to lenses intended to throw light serving as a'signal in a certain path. There are, however, certain disadvantages method when used for railroznl and marine tion of the area of the [lame or other source of illumination employed is totally non-effective. As is well known in accordance with the law of optics, assuming that a certain point of the lens is focused at the center of the llamc or very close to that point opposite the light which that portion of the lens is receiving from the center of the flame,it is also at the same time receiving rays from all other luminous points a in the flame. Only the light which comes from the point in the flame to which the before mentioned point in the lens is focused will be thrown in a precisely parallel path, that is to say, a path parallel to the axis ofthe lens. But light impinging upon the lens from other partsof the llanle at a less acute angle than the ray which is thrown parallel is bent in, more or less closely, to --the axis of the lens accori'ling' as the angle at which it impinges upon the surface of the lens is farther or nearer from the center of the flame; and, furthermore, light rays impinging upon the same point 0 the lens at an angle more acute than the ray thrown parallel, are spread out from the lens, diverging from the parallel beam at angles more or less acute as the light rays involved emanate from points farther from or nearer to the center of the flame. Such light rays as are thrown out at a more acute angle to the surface of the lens than the parallel rays are,

purposes. In the first place, a large propor- A lens which focuses in this center .Of t

because of their dispersion, totally inell'ective at any considerable distance from the lensv The light, however, which is thrown at an angle inside ofthe parallel ray, although focusing at some point more or less near to the lens, will be, or a large proportion of it, at least, effective at considerable distances, or as long as it remains within the light beam. Furthermore, all lenses pressed in molds, as

is customary in the manufacture of railway semaphores, and Fresnel lenses for marine service, etc. are more or less liable to slight variation due to inequalities in the contraction of the glass upon cooling, such as a slight flattening ofthc curvature at any point (and the defect involved is nearly al ways a flattening rather than an increase of curvature) which inequality will throw the focus for that particular )oint back more or less from the lie flame. The result of this defeet will be that the adjustment between flame and lens will be more or less seriously deranged, and any flattening of cm 'ature whatsoever will result in some loss of light.

To overcome the defects arising from previous methods of constructing and focusing lenses of the ty 1c hereinahove described, the presrnt method has been devised whcrcim instead of focusing to a point as has heretofore been the custom, it has been assented that a certain area of the flame is equally effective for purposes of illumination, the size of such area lacing dependent. upon the size of flame available. The lens is then formed in such a way as to bring the foci for the different parts oi each zone of the lens at various distances inside the pl anc of the illuminax'lhthat is to say, between the flame and thelens. Now although there may be no light whatsoever at the theoretical focal point a line prolonged throughthis point from anv given point upon the lens, provided it strilrcs the tlame within the luminous area hereinhefore mentioned, will receive its full quota of luminous rays.

To more clearly illustrate the improvml method of lens camstruction. rcl'cret'icc may be had to the accompanying drawing, in

which,---

Figure l is a diagramumtie view of a semaihorc lens of the usual type showing also a iurner flame and rays of light emanating therefrom and passing through the lens. ig. 2 is a similar view of a lens, made in at cordanee with my improvml method, in connection with a flame, and lines indicating rays of light.

in Fig: l,a lens 1, is shown, each zone I, 1, etc. of which is focused as closely as possible to the center of the llamc M. Since the spherical aberration present in anv double convex lens renders it impossible to focus any two points on the surface of the lens at the. same point in the flame unless such points are located on cqual radii from the axis A, B, of the. lens, the desired result is obtained, approximately, by focusing one point. say (1, upon the center of the flame, and thereafter bringing the loci for other points close to the center. Thus, if the point (1 in zone l, Fig. l, is focused at the center of the llame .\l, the loci for the points I; and c in the same zone will be close to the same center. 'lhc same may be said for the other zones.

in my improved mcthodol' construction, instead of designing the curvatures of each zone so that the various points of such zone focus as closely as possible to the center of the flame, the outer edge of each zone is focused upon a point in the llame situated a certain tllstullcc on the side of the axis opposite the side upon which the point of such zone is located. This is illustrated in Fig. 2, in which it will be seen that the points d, (1 etc. on the .outer edge of the zones 1, 1, etc. are focused at different point's on the axis A ll, crossing which the, converge on the luminous surface at l), a point outside the center of the flame. in a circular lcns such :is is represented in the diagram, the points i) will describe a circular area with as its center. The diameter of the luminous circular area will, of course, depend upon the size of the llame. If the luminous surface is large,. the distance between the center 0 and the point I) will be correspondingly increased. The entire luminous surface within the circular area will be available for illumination, as all the rays emanating therefrom will-form less acute angles than the rays passing through the point I), and on emerging from the lens they will be bent more or less toward the axis A B, see dotted lines as, y, z. By giving the correct curvaturn to the several zones relative to the area 105 of the illuminating surface. practically all the light rays passing through the lens will be parallel or convergent. Very few will diverge andbc lost.

in the old method of constructing lenses, where the focus is at. the center of the flame, all light rays emanating from the luminous surface between its center and outer edge, and passing mzross the axis of the lens are lost, inasmuch as they diverge from the axis. This is clearly shown in Fig. l, where a light ray from the point e of the luminous surface crosses the axis A B to the point a. on the zone 1, and thence through the lens in the path a? c. it. is obvious, therefore, that light rays emanating from one half of the flame or luminous surface will impinge upon any point of the lens at a more acute angle than that formed by rays emanating from the focus, and hence cause these rays to diverge.

This improved method is e ually applicable to the construction oi cylindrical lenses and such as are used. on ship lights, as

iioloircularemployed in railroad sig-f said flame are s removed from fihe axis thereto n'a mg'.

I a a a 1 offsibsiiantially as set forth. Having thus described my invention, 1 In testimony whereof I aflix my signature 0151211111? 3 h u f l b in presence of two witnesses. 5 improvement t e art 0 signa ing 7 light rags whlch conslsts in providing a defi v WILLIAM CHURCHILL I V mte an exfiended area offiame for effective Wit/messes: I 4

illumination and changing .the direction of 3111533? '11. HOWARD,

'light'rays by focusing upon difierent parts of 

